If you own or operate a ship, it’s crucial to guarantee that your engines adhere to emission regulations following maintenance or repair. Non-compliant engines can result in fines, lost business, and harm to your reputation. Here are some essential tips to help you avoid these costly issues, according to Wartsila.
Emission Compliant Spare Parts
Choosing genuine original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts will help you to eliminate the risk of non-compliance. But how do you know if your emission-critical spares are genuine and therefore compliant?
The best way is to only use the NOx-critical components that are listed in the engine’s technical file. The technical file includes a list of all the engine components and settings that can influence your engine’s NOx emissions.
These components include the:
- injection nozzle
- injection pump
- camshaft
- cylinder head
- piston
- connecting rod
- charge air cooler
- turbocharger
If your ship is IMO Tier III certified, certain components such as the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) elements are also classed as NOx-critical components as they are considered part of the engine.
A unique IMO ID number identifies emission-critical components. This ID number is marked in the NOx technical file and stamped on the spare part. Some OEMs, including Wärtsilä, also stamp their company logo on new emission-critical spare parts.
Good Documentation Practices
If you lose track of your replacement parts, your risk of non-compliance grows. This can happen if, for example, you have a high turnover of staff. Maintaining and following good documentation practices is the best way forward.
Every time you replace an emission-critical part you should record these changes in the engine logbook and have your chief engineer sign off the changes. The logbook is an official document that must be available to port state authorities and classification society surveyors when requested. You also need to do this if you change the engine settings – see the bonus tip at the end of this article about why this is not recommended!
The NOx technical file is also helpful because you can refer to it when buying emission-critical spare parts to ensure they are compliant. However, you should be careful because not all parts labeled as OEM parts are necessarily genuine.
Right Parts At Right Time
If your ship fails an inspection, without proper preparation and planning you might not have enough time to find the approved emission-compliance parts listed in the NOx technical file. This would put your engine at risk of non-compliance. In the worst case, your ship might not be able to sail until you fit approved parts.
But predicting what spares you will need and when can be difficult. That is why being prepared is important, especially when the availability of spares for maintenance work is one of the biggest challenges you face. What makes it even trickier is that delivery times can vary a lot depending on the spare. For example, the delivery time for catalytic elements can be as long as six to seven months because they are not off-the-shelf items.
Staying Up To Date
Keeping up with regulatory changes is one of the biggest challenges you face when it comes to compliance. And it is highly likely that regulations on CO2, NOx and SOx will become even more strict than they are today.
There is a simple way to address this challenge: make sure you proactively follow updates provided by regulatory authorities and your engine manufacturer. These updates and their implications for your ships should be shared with everyone in your organisation – from management to ship crews. This will ensure that everyone understands why regulations need to be followed and how to comply with them.
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Source: Wartsila
